The Little Mermaids
by writerchic16
Summary: Alex and Max are turned into merpeople and captured when caught in the middle of a feud between Justin's new mermaid friend and an evil sea wizard. -minor OC, not a crossover-
1. Part I

_The Little Mermaids_

Summary: Alex and Max are turned into merpeople and captured when caught in the middle of a feud between Justin's new mermaid friend and an evil sea wizard.

A/N: I've been getting so many WOWP ideas, I figured it's about time I wrote one. Got inspired for this after watching _Beware Wolf_ on Youtube. Also, thanks for the reviews for _It's My Quinceanera, I'll Switch If I Want To_!

This is going to be somewhat of an episode formula, though as I'm writing it, I realize it may be somewhat longer than I originally planned. Still, it will have the feel of an episode, so maybe a two-parter? Lol. Set in Season 2 after Beware Wolf, so Dean is Alex's "like interest," though not an important part of the story.

Edit: I just realized how short this part really is. Sorry about that, imagine it as a teaser scene. Future parts will be way longer, I promise!

* * *

**Part I**

"So Justin, who are you talking to on WizSpace now?" Alex taunted, passing her brother on the Wizard Computer on her way to get a drink from the apartment kitchen. It was a few weeks since the werewolf incident, and Justin had just regained WizSpace privileges. Their parents, more so their mother, had been so paranoid that Justin would turn into something else that they had forbade him from using the website for two weeks. When he looked up at her, Alex continued, "A leprechaun? A wood nymph? Oh, I know, a faerie! You would look so cute with little butterfly wings! Justin the Faerie…"

"Alex, stop calling me a faerie!" Justin argued. Both of them paused to consider the double meaning of that statement, then shook it off and moved on. "And don't worry, I've learned my lesson. I'm never dating anyone on WizSpace again, that's for sure. Not unless they install a full background check feature."

Alex was slightly disappointed to hear that as she took out a can of soda from the fridge. Justin's romantic cyber mishaps were always good source for amusement. "So, seriously, who are you talking to?"

"My friend, Alyssa," Justin explained while Alex walked over to look over his shoulder, soda can in hand. "She's not into math and stuff…"

"Not a geek? What's she doing talking to you?" Alex teased.

Glaring at her, Justin explained, "I put up pictures from last summer, when I was a lifeguard at that local pool, and she commented on them. She's really into water and thought it was so cool that I was a lifeguard. And we have the same taste in music, books…" He groaned. "Why'd I have to meet her on WizSpace?"

"Why don't you meet her in real life?" Alex suggested, a plan forming in her head. It always happened, whether she or someone else was in troube - it was a gift she used to its full advantage. "You can meet her, make sure she's not half-Bigfoot or something, and then when she's in the clear, introduce her to Mom and Dad. They don't have to know you met her on WizSpace first."

Justin stared at her, considering. "You know…that might work. And then, once I decide if I like her, I can introduce her to Mom and Dad. Maybe she'll be perfectly normal or a wizard like me, and Mom and Dad will relax about WizSpace usage. Thanks, Alex, somehow you always know how to make a situation work for you."

"I'm a genius that way," Alex replied with a shrug. Nodding at the screen, she noted, "Hey, WereBoy, your dream girl messaged you back."

"Alex, Dad told you to stop with the werewolf nicknames!" Justin whined. When she just smirked at him, he sighed and typed back. After a moment, he pumped his fist in victory. "_Yes_! She lives in the Manhattan area and can meet me tomorrow! This is _so_ cool! And, get this, she suggested walking along the Hudson River! How romantic is that?"

Unable to help herself, Alex remarked, "About as romantic as going to the park to play fetch?"

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Justin replied.

"Maybe," Alex answered. "Depends on how much of a freak this girl is."


	2. Part II

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

**Part II**

Justin made his way down to the beach, holding Alyssa's hand as they climbed down some rocks. The sand along the Hudson river was grainy, with short grass scattered along the coast line. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Justin asked while they began to walk. "I mean, sure, the idea of walking around the beach _sounds_ romantic. Until you factor in the cold October winds."

"That just makes it even more romantic. We can walk with our arms around each other for warmth," Alyssa replied, tugging Justin ahead further down the coast. "Water is so cool, isn't it?"

Feeling his teeth chatter as the wind sprayed freezing water on his skin, Justin replied, "Yes, it's definitely _cool_. In fact I'd say it's downright chilly."

"Don't be such a downer. Haven't you ever done something _spontaneous_?" Alyssa asked. She spun around in a circle with her arms spread open and her straight auburn hair falling away from her shoulders, taking in the fresh sea air.

Justin stubbornly stuffed his cold hands in his pockets and forced his teeth to stop shaking. So what if he was a little chilly? He was on a date, for crying out loud. No girl liked a whiner. "Of course I have. I'm just sayin' it's cold, that's it. So, uh, you really like the beach, don't you?"

"Love it. I grew up by the beach. This beach, actually," Alyssa answered.

Grateful for the subject change, Justin asked, "So you live in this neighborhood."

Alyssa paused. "Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that. What about you? You said you lived in the lower West side, right?"

"Yeah, over on Waverly Place. My family owns the sub station there," Justin answered.

Her bright brown eyes widening, Alyssa replied, "_Love_ that place! My friend and I picked up shrimp sandwiches there, they're delicious!"

"Yeah, that was one of Max's creations," Justin replied with a chuckle. Content for the moment, he stood and watched the calming sea. "You know, I'm having a good time. My parents don't know what they're talking about."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing personal," Justin was quick to add. "It's just that…well, this is a little embarrassing, but I haven't had the best experiences with WizSpace. You know how it is. One girl's a centaur, another's a werewolf, next thing you know, your parents aren't letting you date any more girls you meet online. But they're totally paranoid, not_ everyone_ is like that."

At that, Alyssa gave him a weak smile. "O-Oh. D-does that bother you? You know, if a girl's not entirely human?"

"Well, depends on what she is. Heck, I'm half-wizard. No one's perfect," Justin answered, getting a queasy feeling in his stomach. The way she had hesitated at his suggestion made him start to wonder…

"Hm, that's true. You mentioned that you're in training with your siblings," Alyssa replied. "And, wizards don't have the best reputation either. Uptight know-it-all bunch, from what I've heard."

"Hey!" Justin exclaimed.

Alyssa laughed. "You're cute when you're all exasperated."

The compliment managed to calm him down quite a bit. "Uh, thanks. So are you…not that I've, uh, seen you exasperated since I met you. But I'm sure you are," he replied. _Smooth_, he thought, mentally smacking himself.

"You're also cute when you're flustered," Alyssa teased. She then made a serious face and glanced toward the water. "Hey, Justin…you want to go for a swim?"

Justin gaped at her. The suggestion had been made in an intense tone that didn't match the casual words. But besides that…"A _swim_? Are you nuts? It's _freezing_! What are you, a fish?"

"Ironic you should ask that," Alyssa muttered under her breath.

But Justin heard it. And that nervous feeling intensified. "W-what was that?"

Instead of saying anything, Alyssa took off her shoes and walked barefoot to the water's edge. Much to his surprise, she ran and dived in with her clothes on.

When she emerged, she was wearing a bikini top made of purple shells. Up through the waves poked the tip of a scaly tail. The scales shimmered purple and were streaked with a silvery green.

Justin felt his jaw drop to his shoulders. Abruptly closing it, he stuttered, "Y-you're a mermaid?"

"Duh," Alyssa joked, thumping her tail on the wave and splashing him. "Are you okay with this?"

Unable to do anything else, Justin shrugged. "U-uh, sure, yeah. Just wondering why you never told me."

"This is the kind of thing I usually wait to tell someone until I meet them in real life," Alyssa explained, swimming up to the shore and lying on the sand before him. "It's different for you. Wizards are common in the magical community. Me…most other people I've told online haven't been able to look past the tail."

"Uh huh," Justin answered. _Okay, relax, this isn't so bad. So she's a mermaid. Mermaids are cool, right? And it's not like…uh…_ "Y-you can't turn me into a mermaid, right? Sorry, bad werewolf experience."

Alyssa laughed. "No, don't worry, it's not contagious."

"And if I say that my sister loved _The Little Mermaid_ when she was a kid, you're not going to blast me for accepting stereotypes, right?" Justin asked.

Laughing again, Alyssa answered, "No. In fact, _The Little Mermaid_ was my favorite movie growing up too."

"That's good to hear," Justin replied. He was beginning to relax at this point, relieved. Thinking back to their conversation, he started, "So, wait, when you said you lived in the neighborhood…"

"You know, if we're going to have a conversation, I better change," Alyssa interrupted. Before Justin could continue, she swung her tail in front of her and touched the shell necklace that she had been wearing the whole night. There was a blue light as the tail morphed into legs.

Stunned, Justin asked, "How does that work, exactly? You just turned into a mermaid when you touched water before."

"Well, changing back into a mermaid can be done with no magical help. It's natural and can be done at will," Alyssa explained, getting up and brushing off her jeans, which were somehow still dry. "But transforming into a human requires an extra magical boost. These necklaces aren't rare, but they're still hard to get."

"Why do you have one then?" Justin asked. He'd never met a mermaid before and was becoming curious.

Alyssa just shook her head and chuckled, pulling him along the beach. "Aren't you full of questions."

"Well, you're a _mermaid_, I…" He trailed off and smiled as she ran ahead of him, enjoying the Autumn sun and the crashing waves. _Maybe dating a mermaid won't be so bad._

* * *

Sitting in the lair, Alex picked at her nails while her father taught their next magic lesson. He'd been going on about some history of something or other for the past fifteen minutes. And Alex had no inclination to tune in to find out what it was.

_I need a manicure…_she thought, holding her hand up in front of her. She caught her older brother's glare out of the corner of her eye, but whatever, he could glare all he wanted. Her dismissive attitude toward the day's lecture was nothing new.

She did, however, raise an eyebrow in surprise when he just gave her a small smirk and refocused on the lesson. Any other day, he would have ratted her out for not paying attention.

_It must be that girl_, Alex thought, sitting up on the couch and studying her brother. He seemed to be enjoying the lesson more than usual, a goofy grin on his face when he thought no one was looking. _He's crushing _hard_. Well, if it means less trouble for me, I'm all for it. _

_I wonder what she is…_Alex thought, reflecting on what she knew of the new girl in her brother's life. Justin had been somewhat mysterious when he came back from the date a couple of days ago. It was _so_ obvious that he'd had a great time, yet he kept explanations simple, just saying that she was a great, free-spirited girl. Which probably explained his new laid-back demeanor.

Still, Alex's instincts were going off like crazy. If Justin met this girl on WizSpace, she couldn't be normal. She just _couldn't_. It was simply Justin's track record that history repeat itself.

Not that she cared. Her stupid brother could date whoever or whatever he wanted. But it was always fun for Alex to try and figure out other people's secrets. And then use them to her advantage.

As she thought, she subconsciously took note that she was staring at her brother in deep concentration. She then blinked as her father's hand waved before her eyes to get her attention.

Snapping out of it, Alex blinked and straightened up on the sofa. "What? I'm listening!"

"Sure you are. And I was just teaching you all the Cha Cha Slide." Jerry retorted.

Alex smirked. "Really? 'Cause you never could do it at weddings."

"Yeah, Dad, you always trip over yourself when you try to criss-cross," Max added, laughing and shaking his head.

His hands on his hips, Jerry said, "Alright, just for that…Justin, perform the spell I mentioned on your sister."

"With pleasure," Justin said with a wide smile. With that, he took out his wand and pointed it Alex.

Alex was suddenly nervous. She had no idea what her brother was about to do to her. "Wait, what's he…"

"That'll teach you not to listen. Justin, go ahead," Jerry insisted.

Waving his wand, Justin chanted, "Amoveo Magicus."

Alex felt the spell zap her and looked down at herself. Nothing changed…as far as she could see. "What happened? What'd he do?"

"Now, Alex, turn your brother into a frog," Jerry said.

Doing a double take, Alex replied, "You serious?"

"Yeah, sure, knock yourself out," Jerry replied.

_He's up to something._ After trading looks with Max, who shrugged, Alex got out her wand. "Alright then. This annoying brother is now not, an ugly frog should fill its slot." She finished the spell with a final point of her wand for emphasis, but nothing happened. "Wait, why isn't he an ugly frog? Well, literally, anyway."

"Because the spell I cast on you disables your powers for a whole three minutes," Justin bragged, a smirk on his face.

Alex gasped and put her hands on her hips. "That's not fair!"

"And bunk, too. I wanted to see Justin as a frog!" Max exclaimed.

"Well, Alex, you would have _known_ he was about to shut down your powers if you _listened to the lecture_!" Jerry pointed out. "As I've _already mentioned_, the spell was developed in the middle ages for use during the heat of a wizard battle. You cannot imagine how much a powerless three minutes can affect the outcome. It's usually enough for the losing wizard to escape defeat for the moment."

Checking her watch, Alex waited. Then she grinned. "Well, that was for the moment. Guess what, three minutes is up!" Waving her wand, she said, "This annoying brother is now not, an ugly frog should fill its slot!"

"Alex!" Justin managed to exclaim before he began to morph. A scaly frog stood where Justin had a second earlier.

"What the…how the…_Alex_!" Jerry sputtered. "That was just for the demonstration! Turn your brother back now!"

"Fine. But in my defense, he's less ugly this way," Alex replied as she once again directed her wand. "This frog is now not, Justin should fill its slot."

The spell took effect, and Justin became human again in an instant. An angry human. "Alex! Consider yourself a rat!" Justin yelled, raising his wand.

Sick of the lesson anyway, Alex ran from the lair, Justin right behind her. She almost crashed into her mother when she made it to the kitchen.

"Alex? What's going on in there?" Theresa demanded, putting her hands on Alex's shoulders.

Feigning tears, Alex whined, "Justin said he's going to turn me into a rat!"

Justin burst into the kitchen, wand still raised as he closed the kitchen door behind him. At his mother's glare, he lowered his wand and hid it behind his back. "Uh, hi Mom."

"Justin! You know there's a rule in this family against turning siblings into animals," Theresa chided.

"Oh, come on, you have to admit she was a cute mouse that one time…" Justin replied. At his mother's stern look, he added, "Besides, she turned me into a frog first!"

"_Alex_!" Theresa exclaimed.

Trading glances with her brother, Alex muttered, "I'm sorry I turned you into a frog."

"I'm sorry for chasing you," Justin muttered back.

Alex glanced at him. "Call it even?"

"Not even close," Justin joked, but gave her a friendly smile.

Relieved the fighting was over, Theresa ushered them back towards the lair door. "Now you two get back in the lair. I'm sure your father is angry at you for running out on a magic lesson."

"Fine with me. I want to get this over with. I'm meeting Alyssa at the beach later," Justin said, leading the way into the lair.

Alex considered her brother's words as they re-entered the lair. There was the mention of the beach again – what was up with that?


	3. Part III

A/N: I lost my glasses, so while I wrote the last half of the chapter, this whole text was a blur. I can kind of see the words, but trying to edit is a major headache, so sorry if there's any typos I didn't catch.

* * *

**Part III**

The next day, Justin paced the living room in a nervous frenzy. Alyssa would be there in two minutes for dinner.

Since he'd been seeing Alyssa so much in the four days from their first date on Saturday, his parents had near bullied him into asking her over. He couldn't blame them, really. They were a little jumpy about girls he dated after the werewolf incident. His mother was still picking the odd flea out of his hair.

At least they didn't know he met her on WizSpace. If they knew, they would force him to stop seeing her, no excuses, end of relationship. He was hoping that if they just spent time with her, they would see how normal she was and agree to make an exception.

And no, he wasn't lying to them. When they asked where he met her, he said he met her at the beach. Which was true. He did _meet with her_ at the beach.

Yeah, he knew he was stretching the truth. And the guilt was eating him up inside. But he was sure it would be all worth it when his parents approved of Alyssa.

He clenched his fists, then ran his hands through his hair. Only to realize that his palms were covered in sweat. So he had just gotten sweat all over the hair he had obsessed over for twenty minutes. "Darn it!" he exclaimed, running to the kitchen to get a towel.

Right as the doorbell rang.

Freezing on the spot, Justin had a panicked moment where deciding whether to wipe his hands or open the door first became the most important decision of his life.

"Justin! Get the door! Tell Alyssa we'll be down in a minute!"

Justin almost jumped at his mother's call, but managed to pull himself together enough to let out a deep breath and turn to the door. Only to actually jump when he saw Alex and Max standing at the bottom of the stairs, amused smirks on their faces. "What are you staring at?" he blurted, trying to maintain some sense of macho pride.

"The dork in the living room," Max teased.

Nodding in admiration, Alex said "_Nice_" and high-fived her little brother.

"Max, you're spending way too much time with Alex," Justin retorted.

"Well, you know, there are worse companions," Alex replied with a smug grin. "Like _fleas_…" At this, Max doubled over in laughter.

Though the doorbell rang again, Justin took the time to glare at them. "You say _one_ word of that to Alyssa and you're both dead, got it?"

"Please, you couldn't hurt a flea," Max answered in between breaths for air. His response only sent Alex and him into another chuckle fit.

Justin fought to keep his temper in check. It would only amuse his siblings more if Alyssa saw him angered like this. _Then again, Alyssa did say she thinks I'm cute when I'm exasperated. She'd probably think I was just adorable if she saw me now._ "Cut it out, you two. Go keep yourselves occupied while I get the door. I'm sure you'll spend it by spreading my baby pictures around the room or something equally humiliating."

"I wasn't going to, but hey –"

"Alex, just go!" Justin snapped, causing the two of them to run into the kitchen, laughing.

Once they left him alone, Justin let out another deep breath and answered the door. "Hey, Alyssa…wow, you look great."

She was wearing a knee-length light purple dress with a matching jacket and heels. He suddenly felt underdressed in his nicest jeans and a polo shirt.

Still, Alyssa seemed not to notice as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting and strolled into apartment. That small gesture of affection had Justin's heart racing – he'd kissed her good night on their last date, but that was it so far. "Hi Justin, thanks, you look great too. These are your siblings, right?"

"No, they're evil demons who make it their purpose to ruin my life," Justin muttered under his breath. Thankfully, she didn't hear and he said, "Yeah, Alex and Max. My parents will be down in a moment."

"Well, that's okay," Alyssa replied, then smiled at Max. "Aw, aren't you cute."

"That's bunk! I am _all_ man!" Max objected.

Alex scoffed. "Yeah, a man who still sleeps with a nightlight," she paused, feigning confusion. "No, wait, that's Justin."

_And let the games begin,_ Justin thought, glaring at his sister. "Ha…ha….she's kidding, of course. _Aren't you, Alex_?"

"No, I'll show you his room if you want –"

"Alex! Stop talking to Alyssa!" Justin snapped.

Alyssa was trying hard not to laugh, but couldn't help chuckling. "Aw, Justin, she's your kid sister. It's what they do."

"Right. And, since you did bring it up, I'm off to dig up some baby pictures," Alex said, dashing up the stairs.

Justin groaned as he put his head in his hands. _At least she left the room._ He breathed a sigh of relief when his parents came down the stairs.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Russo," Alyssa greeted, shaking each of their hands. They had already met in the sub shop before one of her and Justin's dates. "Thank you for having me over. I don't get to eat on land that much."

_Uh oh_, Justin thought as his parents traded bewildered looks. Glancing back to Alyssa, Theresa reasoned, "So…you live on a houseboat, then? I don't…"

"Yeah, sure, when's dinner?" Alyssa quickly interrupted, realizing her mistake. She mouthed "sorry" to Justin once his parents' backs were turned.

Going over to check the kitchen timer, Theresa said, "Dinner's ready, everyone. Take your seats…where's Alex?"

"Right here," Alex said, coming down the stairs with a photo album in hand.

Jerry chose to ignore his daughter's antics and took a seat. "You'll love this dinner, Alyssa. Theresa makes some pretty good tacos."

"Tacos…what are those?" Alyssa asked, her face blank.

That earned her a curious stare from those at the table. "You've never heard of tacos?" Max asked in disbelief.

"No, sorry. But I'm sure they're really good," Alyssa answered.

Trying to smooth over the awkward moment, Justin explained, "They're these hard folded tortilla shells filled with beef."

Still, Alyssa's face was blank. "Beef…remind me what that is again?"

And with that, Theresa brought the tacos to the table, and the meal began.

* * *

After dinner, Justin sat in the living room with his family, Alyssa next to him on the couch.

He felt like he was in the hot seat of a game show.

Ever since they'd moved to the living room for dessert, Justin honestly wondered if his family had made it their mission to humiliate him as much as possible. Well, he expected it of Alex, who mentioned either his action figures or his nightlight every five seconds. And Max was going through a phase where he pretty much served as Alex's sidekick.

But his parents were on a roll. Alyssa was a calm, easy-going person, so his parents relaxed…and that was never good. When his parents were comfortable, they tended to tell embarrassing stories about their children. He was beginning to think that the tenseness of revealing Alyssa's unusual genetic makeup would be preferable to this humiliating atmosphere.

"…he had taco sauce dribbling from his chin!" Theresa exclaimed, gesturing with her hands as she told a story about five-year-old Justin. "Then he started crying because the sauce was too hot. And, well, milk is the best way to cool spicy heat, and I only had Alex's bottle on hand…"

"Oh, no!" Alyssa squealed, then chuckled into the hand that had a permanent spot in front of her mouth. It'd been there since she first started laughing…a half hour ago. "Poor Justin!"

"Wait, didn't Alex get mad at him for taking her 'babba', so she started smacking him with her Barbie doll?" Jerry finished.

Justin put his head in his hands and groaned.

_This is not happening._

"Okay, as entertaining as this is, I'm sure Alyssa would much rather talk about something else. Anything else," Justin said in a pleading voice. In a vain attempt to change the subject, he said the first less-anxiety producing subject to mind. "Politics, anyone?"

As if she hadn't heard him, Alex said, "Wait, I got one! Speaking of stealing my stuff, remember when he stole my foundation makeup for his huge pimple?"

"I think we all remember that, it was last week!" Max exclaimed, while he yet again high-fived Alex.

"You two are terrible to your brother," Alyssa remarked, affectionately ruffling Justin's hair. "You haven't given him a break all night."

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Alex joked, rubbing her hands together in an evil fashion.

Snapping his fingers, Max said, "I've got one! Remember we went to visit Grandma a few years ago, and her dog knocked a bowl of chili onto his lap? He smelled like meat for a week – Georgie kept following him around!"

"Oh, that happens to everyone," Alyssa replied, while Justin sighed with relief. "I remember, one time when I was little, I was swimming with my older sister, and kelp got on my tail. I swear, I wanted to _die_, and the worst part was that the scales it touched were green for at least a few days…what?"

And then Justin sucked that sigh of relief right back up.

_Uh oh._

_Please ignore it…please ignore it…please ignore it…_Justin begged. Meanwhile, Alyssa realized her slip and was biting her bottom lip in anticipation. His family seemed to freeze, either working out her words in their head or forming an appropriate reaction.

Jerry managed to unfreeze enough to move his mouth and ask, "I'm sorry, I-I must have heard you wrong. Because you just couldn't have been talking about your _tail_…right?"

Justin traded glances with Alyssa, and shrugged in a gesture of resignation. _Might as well get this over with._ "Uh, Mom, Dad, given my recent dating history, there's something about Alyssa I've been hesitant to tell you."

"I knew it! She _is_ a freak!" Alex exclaimed.

Theresa glared at her. "Alex, don't be rude!" Then she turned back to Alyssa and gave her a weak attempt at an encouraging smile. "Go ahead, Alyssa."

Letting out a deep breath, Alyssa confessed, "Well…I'm a mermaid." While Theresa gasped and Max let out an exclamation of "Whoa, cool!", Alyssa continued, "This necklace I'm wearing enables me to keep human form. There are beings naturally half-human and half-mermaid, and try to pass as a normal human…I'm just not one of them. I'm from a colony right off the Manhattan coast…"

"Acqua Nordi."

The entire family and Alyssa turned to Jerry, who'd whispered the name. Surprised, Alyssa asked, "You've heard of it, Mr. Russo?"

"Yeah, I learned of it during my wizard training. I'm an ex-wizard," Jerry explained. "It's a large colony that's been around for centuries, one of the few north of the equator."

Alyssa nodded. "Yes, that's it. I got my necklace as a birthday gift when I was young, and have been using it to explore the human world. That was how I met Justin…one of my friends is a wizard, and she introduced me to WizSpace. We've been talking for a while and –."

"Wait, _WizSpace_?" Theresa interrupted, growing angry and panicked. "You two didn't meet at the beach?"

Alyssa was a great person, free-spirited to a fault, but oblivious to the point of frustration. In this case, Justin's frustration. "Yeah," she said, nodding without another thought. "We've been talking on WizSpace for a few months now, and I suggested we hang out at the beach."

"Justin, for future reference, when we ask where you meet a girl, we mean _for the first time_," Jerry said, also exasperated.

Then it clicked that maybe she'd created a tense situation. "Oh, right, Justin mentioned your bias against WizSpace…You know, I think I should go, and give you time to chat…"

"I think that would be best," Alex said, getting up to show Alyssa the door. To Alyssa, she said, "Don't worry, it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Justin's not the 'Prince Eric' type."

Giving Alex a weak smile, Alyssa turned back and said, "I'm sorry about this, Mr. and Mrs. Russo. Justin, I'll call you later. I promise."

"Okay, if this whole situation weren't so tense, this would so be where Dad made an ultra-lame _shell_ phone joke…" Alex laughed, then trailed off and frowned when her father glared at her. "But now's not the time, so see ya!"

"Bye, Alyssa," Justin said in a glum voice.

He had a sinking feeling he'd never be allowed to see her again.

No pun intended.


	4. Part IV

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And the adds for alert - all of a sudden, it jumped from three to eight alerts. Glad to know some people are reading this.

* * *

**Part IV**

Once Alyssa left, Justin summoned all of his courage and began, "Mom, Dad, I'm really sorry, but –"

"Not now, Justin," Jerry snapped, in a serious, angry tone that even made Theresa jump. "Alex, Max, go to your rooms."

Normally his siblings would have protested, but their father's unusual scary tone had them running for the stairs. They even gave Justin sympathetic "good luck" looks as they left.

_What's with Dad?_ Justin wondered. He'd seen his father angry before, but not this angry. Not as angry as he'd been the other times he'd brought home a girl from WizSpace. Something was different this time. Still, the thought of never being able to see Alyssa gave Justin an unusual amount of foolish courage, so he managed to say, "Look, I know you're mad at me for lying, but I just wanted you to see Alyssa for the great girl she is –"

Jerry interrupted him for a second time, leaning forward in his seat. "Justin, you are not allowed to see Alyssa ever again. End of discussion."

And he got up from the couch and began to leave.

"Jerry, wait," Theresa begged, getting up and holding on to his arm. To make him stay. "Yes, Justin was wrong for lying to us, and he should be punished for that. But Alyssa _is_ a very nice girl, and I don't think her being a mermaid should be such a big deal…"

Jerry turned around and pulled his arm from Theresa's grasp. His gaze fell on Justin, who still sat in his chair, too scared to move. "You don't understand. Mermaids are dangerous."

"More so than werewolves?" Theresa asked in disbelief.

"Look, I wasn't going to get into this until our chapter on Underwater Magical Creatures, but I guess I might as well explain it now," Jerry began, sitting back down on the couch. Relieved that Jerry agreed to explain his behavior, Theresa gladly sat next to him and listened.

Justin, meanwhile, was beginning to sweat. What hadn't Alyssa told him about herself? Was she like a siren, determined to turn him into a merman and lure him out to sea forever? Maybe he really should stick to dating human girls. "What is it, Dad? What do mermaids do that's so bad?"

"It's not so much all mermaids as…Acqua Nordi, Alyssa's colony," Jerry began, pausing every so often as if figuring out how to tell his family as he went. "It's infamous for resenting humans and wizards. Like I said before, its been around for centuries…before humans 'discovered' America. Before then, mermaids used to enjoy using the New York islands as their playground, transforming into humans whenever they wanted and using the land for its exotic plants.

"Then humans and wizards came in and took over the land, forcing mermaids to go into hiding underwater. Labeling us as dangerous, the king at that time stripped mermaids of their ability to become human and restricted them to the sea. Many mermaids resented their forced hiding. For centuries, if a human or wizard crossed the colony's path, they were turned into a mermaid, by the king's orders. Their way of giving humans and wizards a taste of their own medicine."

Justin was sure his face had gone white from panic. "So Alyssa _is_ going to turn me into a merman!"

"That's it. You're deleting your WizSpace account, _now_!" Theresa ordered. Yet she reached over and hugged her son, as if afraid she wouldn't be able to in the near future. The hug squishing him, Justin simply gave his mother a reassuring pat on the shoulder and gently removed himself from her embrace.

Shaking his head, Jerry explained, "It's not as simple as that. About a decade ago, a new regime took over. Since then, it outlawed the practice of transforming non-mermaids into mermaids, and put into practice tolerance among magical beings. If Alyssa has been talking to you on WizSpace and is willing to date you, then chances are she's part of that new way of thinking."

Justin went from terrified to indignant in seconds. "Then why won't you let me see her?"

"Because there are still groups of mermaids resisting the new regime, and _will_ turn you into a merman if they found out one of their own was dating a wizard," Jerry retorted, the harshness back in his voice. "And for a wizard, getting turned into a merman is a scary thing. The mermaid colony that did it won't accept you as one of your own, so you'd be exiled, and would have to find another colony. If you can."

There was a brief silence, then Theresa asked, "Is there a way to reverse the transformation? A potion, a spell or…"

"No, there isn't," Jerry replied. His tone had suddenly become sad, wistful almost, his eyes lowered. Shaking his head, Jerry got up. "And _that's_ why I don't want you dating her."

Justin glanced at his mother, who frowned but nodded in agreement. "Your father is right, Justin. While I'm sure Alyssa is fine, I…we just can't take the chance."

"I understand. I'll…I'll break up with her. We've only been on a few dates anyway," Justin agreed. While he liked Alyssa…a lot…he wasn't about to take the chance that he might be turned into a merman for a girl he'd technically just met a week ago. He wasn't stupid - they were teenagers who probably would be broken up soon anyway. At least if he ended it now they had a shot at still being friends. "Besides, uh, she wasn't that great anyway. I would've caught a cold eventually from going to the beach with her so many times."

His father gave him a weak smile. "Good. I'm glad you understand." And with that, he left, going out to the balcony and leaning on the railing.

Justin traded worried looks with his mother. "I don't get it, Mom," he said. "Why is Dad so sensitive about this?"

"Honestly, sweetie, I have no idea," Theresa replied, patting her son's hand. "But I'm sure he's right about this. I'm sorry."

Justin nodded. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have lied to you."

"No, you shouldn't have," Theresa agreed. "Why don't you head up to your room while I try to talk to your father? We'll talk about your punishment another time."

Trying not to groan at the mention of punishment, Justin got up and headed toward his room. 'Night, Mom. Good luck."

* * *

The next day, Alex was working her usual shift at the sub station. Of course, her mind wasn't on work. It never was.

This time, she was distracted by Justin's unsuccessful love life. After all, she was progressing nicely with Dean. Well, sure, they hadn't exactly been on a date yet…but a dance was coming up at school. And she heard from Harper, who heard from Jessica who heard from Rebecca who heard from Sarah, that Dean was going to ask her.

It was only a matter of time, really. Why wouldn't Dean ask her? She'd been on full flirting mode every time she bumped into him in the hallway. And she made sure to bump into him a lot.

But she was trying not to think about that, which was the reason why she was thinking about Justin and his romantic problems. When she and Max had been sent from the room last night, of course they didn't actually go up to bed. What kind of younger siblings would they be if they didn't sit by the stairs and listen? However, the conversation hadn't been what they were expecting. Instead of getting to hear Justin be punished, she got an unexpected lecture on mermaid history.

Alex would never be able to look at _The Little Mermaid_ the same way again.

She kept that in mind as she watched Justin talk to Alyssa at a table in the back. He'd invited her there so they could talk. After what she heard last night, she could only assume that he was breaking up with her at that very moment.

How would Alyssa react? Would she yell? Would she cry? Would she act all nice, and then the next day have her mermaid rebel buddies hit Justin with a transformation spell when he wasn't looking?

"I wonder how it's going over there," she mused aloud to Harper.

The brunette sat next to her on a stool, drinking a soda and generally keeping Alex company during the boring shift. Harper's outfit theme was Fall – her skirt, top, leggings and shoes were the same tree-trunk brown. To symbolize a dying tree's branches, she'd swiped the alien antennae of an old Halloween costume and glued on actual brown and orange leaves, taken from the trees around school. The leaves continued in a swirling pattern around her body down to her boots.

Upon seeing Harper's outfit this morning, Alex had just shaken her head, turned to the nearest tree and said, "You know, they say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

Thankfully, Harper had been glad that Alex "got" her "message," and the outfit wasn't mentioned again.

But at the moment, the "dying tree" was alive with green envy. "I don't get it," Harper said, slapping the counter in frustration. "Where does Justin _find_ these girls? Does he have a bias against girls at school? Because I can transfer!"

"I think it's more that no girl would date him unless she didn't see his geeky face first," Alex remarked. Harper's constant adoration of Justin got on her nerves sometimes, but it only gave her more opportunity to mock her brother. Even if Harper didn't join in like a best friend was supposed to.

Harper shook her head. "Alex, you don't see it, but your brother is very attractive. Which is why I clearly don't have a chance against these pretty girls he's finding."

"Okay, Harper, if you're asking me for reassurance that yes, you will date my brother one day…it's not gonna happen," Alex replied while Harper frowned at her. "Maybe one day when we're both older and more mature, I'll love the idea of you possibly being my sister-in-law. But right now, it just grosses me out."

Harper tilted her head to the side, and a glazed-over look said she'd only heard snippets of what Alex had said. "You really think Justin and I could be married one day?"

Instead of correcting her, Alex just rolled her eyes and picked up a sandwich for a customer. "Yeah, sure. Be sure to make me Maid of Honor!"

"Of course I will! Who else would it be, silly?" Harper said with a laugh. Checking her watch, she got up from her stool. "Oh, I gotta go and do some homework. That paper for our history class is due this week."

Alex gave her a blank stare. "We have history class together?"

"How could you not know we have history class together?" Harper asked in disbelief.

"Well, we have a lot of classes together," Alex explained. "It's hard to tell them apart."

"Especially when you're staring at Dean during most of them," Harper replied. On her way out, she gave Justin one last, longing glance before calling, "See you tomorrow!"

Alex continued to serve customers, all the while keeping an eye on her brother and his soon-to-be former girlfriend. After a while, the two got up and Alyssa headed for the door…with Justin right behind her. Grabbing her brother's arm, Alex whispered, "Where are you going? Are you crazy, she'll turn you into a merman!" When a nearby customer gave them a strange look, Alex grinned at him. "I'll be right with you," she said, pulling her brother over to the empty service counter. This time she slapped his arm as she said, "What's the matter with you? Are you crazy?"

"I can't help it, Alex!" Justin replied. "She's so great, and she _promised_ that I am perfectly safe with her. I mean, her _father_ works for the _king_ of the regime that's nice towards wizards…how safe is that?"

Glaring at him, Alex argued, "Mom and Dad told you not to date her, and for once, I think they're right about this. What happens when you break up?"

"Nothing! Because turning someone into a merman is _illegal_, and she respects that!" Justin protested.

Alex began to walk towards the kitchen to get her father. "Well, you can tell that reasoning to Mom and Dad, because you're not…" Alex trailed off as she turned around. Justin was gone, running out the door after Alyssa. To herself she muttered, "Guess I should've seen _that_ coming."

She ran into the kitchen, where her mother was cutting up ingredients for sandwiches. "Mom! Justin's not breaking up with Alyssa, and he just went out the door with her!"

"Oh, that boy is in trouble!" Theresa exclaimed. "I told him he was grounded this morning!"

Relieved she had an excuse to go after Justin, Alex asked, "Do you know where Dad is?"

"I don't know. Let's check the lair – he might be setting up for your magic lesson," Theresa suggested.

The two headed into the lair, only to be greeted by a surprising sight. Her jaw dropping, Alex exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!"


	5. Part V

**Part V**

Alex couldn't believe what she was seeing.

A woman stood on the other side of the lair, tall and intimidating. Her hair was a frizzy dark brown mess, her long dress a sparkling midnight blue that matched her eyes.

But what had stunned both Russos was what the strange woman had in her hand. She was holding a medium-sized glass cylinder half-filled with water. And clearly visible inside was…

Max. With a blue merman tail and a bare chest.

He appeared confused, staring around his new prison (which, thankfully, had small air holes at the top) as if wondering how he had gotten there.

"W-who are you?" Alex demanded, trying to mask the fear she felt.

"Max, my baby!" Theresa exclaimed in horror as she found her voice. Gesturing with her hands, she exclaimed, "Alex, do something!"

As Alex went to do so, the creature held up her free hand. "Hold it there, wizard. Wouldn't want me to drop your brother here, would you?"

A million thoughts ran through Alex's mind while she tried to come up with a plan. _Well, when in doubt…stall._ Putting a calming hand on her panicking mother's shoulder, she demanded again, "Who are you? What are you? What are you doing here?"

"I am Pogisa, Acqua Nordi's resident sea wizard," Pogisa explained, keeping her grip tight on the cylinder prison. "Well, ex-resident," she muttered bitterly.

Alex pretended to take in the information and nodded slowly. "_Oh_…"

Whispering to her daughter, Theresa asked, "What's a sea wizard?"

"A wizard of the sea? I have no idea. Stalling for time here," Alex whispered back.

Theresa nodded in understanding. "Right."

"Wait, Acqua Nordi, the colony that used to turn wizards into mermaids?" Alex said, trailing off as she put two and two together. "Y-you know Alyssa?"

Her hands on her hips, Theresa remarked, "I knew Justin shouldn't date her…" She paused, Alex's words about Acqua Nordi clicking in her head as she turned to her daughter. "You were listening to our conversation with Justin, weren't you?"

Snapping from frustration and pressure of the moment, Alex retorted, "There are two responses to that – "well, duh," and "now's not the time." Pick one!"

Pogisa laughed. "I like you, kid. But let's cut the small talk – where _is_ the little mer-brat? I managed to track her to this building."

"I'm assuming you mean Alyssa," Alex replied, stalling as she came up with a response. "And she's not here. So, you can just give my brother back and try again later."

Giving her an evil smirk, Pogisa replied, "No, I don't think so. Couldn't have Max here rat me out that I was here…and what makes you two would be an exception?" While Alex and her mother stared in confusion, Pogisa raised her hand and chanted, "Cambia Pesci Lenonius!"

The spell took form in small bubbles of water that rose from her palm and headed towards its intended victims. "Alex, move!" Theresa yelled, pushing her daughter out of the way.

"N-No, I can do this!" Alex insisted, regaining her footing and standing in one place and aiming her hand at Pogisa. "I-It was something Magicus…Am…Amo…"

Pogisa laughed at the pathetic display. "Honey, you've got to be kidding me. Cambia Pesci Lenonius!"

This time, the bubbles sped toward Alex so fast that Theresa didn't have time to push her out of the spell's path. "Alex!" Theresa cried. She stared in helpless terror while Alex was covered in a wet gel-like substance.

"Mom!" Alex shouted. She could feel herself transforming. Then, one minute she was standing in the lair about to cast a spell.

The next, she was swimming around in what seemed like a way-to-small fish bowl, the concave shape of the glass somewhat blurring her vision of the outside world. But she could see her brother perfectly.

"Alex!" Max exclaimed as he swam up to her. "She got you too, huh?"

Brushing off her brother's obvious question, Alex …swam….up to the glass and tried to keep an eye on her mother. "Mom!" she yelled, trying to get her mother's attention.

For Theresa was in total meltdown mode, on the verge of tears as she realized she was left alone to face an evil wizard and rescue her children. "L-Let them go!" she begged. "P-please! You can take me instead! Just let them go!"

"How very stupidly noble of you," Pogisa mocked. The heartfelt words had no effect as she continued, "That's humans for you. So noble yet so stupid."

Both captured children glared up at their captor. "Hey!" Max yelled.

"Yeah, that's our mom you're talking about, you stupid sea hag," Alex seethed.

Ignoring them, Pogisacontinued, "Honey, I've got two wizards in the palm of my hand. Literally. You'd be crazy to think I would trade them for a powerless human like you."

Theresa just stood there with tears in her eyes as she clenched her fists out of either anxiety or anger. "W-why do you want them?" she demanded.

"What's going on?" Max whispered to his sister.

Alex barely heard him, lost in her own efforts to come up with a plan. "I think she's stalling for time, trying to think of something," she whispered back.

"Well, I didn't _want_ them, obviously," Pogisa answered, her words filled with satisfied superiority. "I was looking for Alyssa. But who am I to turn down some extra leverage? And besides, the sooner that mer-brat finds out I was on land, the sooner I shoot to the top of Acqua Nordi's most wanted list. I'm only at the bottom now, and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you." She paused as she narrowed her eyes at Theresa. "Which reminds me," she said as she lifted her free hand. "Cambia Pesci –"

"Mom! Run!" Alex and Max shouted, pounding on the glass with their tiny fists while Pogisa lifted her other hand to cast another spell. "If you get captured, you can't help us!" Alex screamed at the top of her lungs…er, gills. "Go get Dad! And find Alyssa!"

Theresa seemed to get the message, scrambling to escape the next round of spell bubbles. Brother and sister gaped in surprise as their mother ran faster than Alex would have never thought possible to get out of the room, dodging spell bubbles along the way.

"Man, when Mom needs to move, she _moves_," Max remarked, impressed.

Finally, Theresa reached the door and hid behind it, giving her children one last reassuring look. "We'll come for you, I promise! Don't worry! I love you both so much –"

She was cut off as some spell bubbles hit the door, causing her to move out of the way and slam the door behind her.

"Darn, the human got away," Pogisa remarked, glancing at her new prisoners. "You'll have to do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex yelled, pounding once more on the glass out of anger.

But her question was ignored. Pogisa raised her hand, and the three were no longer in the lair.

* * *

After she dodged the last spell bubble, Theresa slammed the door behind her. Then she tentatively cracked it open to check.

The sea hag was gone. As were her children.

"No…" she whispered. She felt her knees go weak, and closed the door again as she sunk to the sub station kitchen floor. Emotionally drained from the confrontation, she allowed herself to put her head on her knees and cry before she had to tell her husband what happened.

Her children had just been captured by an evil wizard. And all she'd been able to do was stand there and beg for mercy.

She never hated herself more than she did at that moment.

Her voice was still at a whisper as she said to herself, "Why did I have to be the one to go in the lair with Alex? I'm so…useless. Justin could have used his magic. Jerry could have told Alex that spell she was trying to remember. But I…" She trailed off as she began to cry again.

She was filled with dread as Jerry came into the kitchen. Whatever funk he'd gotten into after talking about mermaids was long gone…or covered up…and he seemed to be back to his normal self. Which was why he was raving mad as came back into the kitchen, not even noticing her while he went to the sink to wash his hands. "Where is that boy," he muttered to himself. "He's supposed to be grounded, isn't he?"

"Jerry…" Theresa whimpered. She lifted her head and found the nerve to look up at him.

Her emotional state caused him to jump in surprise. "Theresa, honey, what happened?" he asked. He sunk down next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Theresa flinched at the touch as the use of the term "honey" reminded her of the sarcastic way the sea hag had used it. "Jerry…they're gone…" Theresa sobbed. She buried her head into the crook of his arm, both for comfort and to avoid seeing the disappointment in her that would surely be on his face.

The raw sadness in her voice left no argument that the "they" she spoke of were her children. As his eyes widened in horror, he lifted up his wife's head with a slight touch to her chin. "Who? A-And what do you mean, gone?"

"Gone!" Theresa answered. "Max and Alex! That evil…" She trailed off as she choked up again.

Fear filled Jerry's eyes. "Evil? What evil? Theresa, what happened?"

"They were kidnapped, Jerry!" Theresa cried. "Alex and I went into the lair looking for…" she paused. It occurred to her that her husband would only be consumed with guilt more than he already would be if she said she and Alex had gone looking for him. "…for something. And there was this evil woman there…she said she was a sea wizard from Acqua Nordi…"

"Alyssa," Jerry realized. His voice turned hard and angry once again.

"She said her name was P something…Pogisa, I think it was," Theresa explained. "She was looking for Alyssa…I think to kidnap or something….but she said she couldn't have Alex and Max leave and tell her, or else all of Acqua Nordi would be searching for her. So she….so she used some spell, a-and…she turned my babies into merpeople! Not only that, she shrunk them down and put them in like a cylinder prison. Then she came after me, and…." She briefly closed her eyes as if to block the pain of the memory.

Instead of being angry at her like he should have been, Jerry held her closer and gently insisted, "And what?"

Theresa looked up at him with a plea for forgiveness in her eyes. "I-I ran! I left them there! My babies needed me, and I ran! How could I do that, Jerry? Why didn't I think of some way to save them? Even Alex didn't have faith in me…she told me to run, that if I got captured too, I wouldn't be able to help them."

"She was right," Jerry replied. He stood up, then held out a hand for her. "You did the right thing, Theresa."

"I don't feel like I did," Theresa confessed. She wiped her eyes with one hand while she took his with her other and somehow managed to stand up on shaky legs. "What do we do now, Jerry? How do we get our babies back?"

Jerry paused to think, then replied, "We'll need Alyssa. That way she can tell Acqua Nordi authorities, and they can start looking for Pogisa."

"What do we do if we find her? She even said so herself – she has our kids. She has leverage," Theresa reminded him.

"I don't know. Maybe if we find out what she wants, we can get cooperation from the Acqua Nordi king and use it against her," Jerry replied, but his lack of confidence in the makeshift plan came through in his voice.

Theresa nodded as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "Okay. I'll call Justin and tell him to get back here with Alyssa."


	6. Part VI

**Part VI**

"I'm _so_ late!" Justin exclaimed, Alyssa running behind him. "I can't believe we were at the beach that long! I'm ten minutes late for wizard training!"

"So? You know, in Acqua Nordi, no one cares if you're late. Or about time at all, even," Alyssa replied. She seemed to match him through no effort, while Justin was starting to take deep breaths in order to keep up the pace.

Though intrigued by that fact, Justin shook his head and pressed on. "Well, up here, time is pretty important, especially to my Dad. I mean, I can only hope Alex isn't there either, otherwise…" He paused in front of the shop as a shiver of horror ran down his spine. "_She'll_ be the good student for the day. Oh, man, _please_ tell me there was a sale at the mall or something!"

While she came to stop next to him in front of the door, Alyssa assured him, "Don't worry. If your dad gets on your case, I'll take full responsibility if you want."

Justin grimaced at her attempt to console him. "Uh, well…you know how I told you all that stuff Dad told me about Acqua Nordi?" When she nodded, he continued. "W-what I didn't tell you was that…my parents sort of told me I couldn't see you any more. And grounded me for not telling them about WizSpace. Right now I'm in so much hot water _I'll_ be the one who needs gills and a tail."

"Hm, didn't know you were such a rebel," Alyssa remarked, then gave him a flirtatious smile.

The compliment gave Justin a confidence boost. "Yeah, totally," he lied, pleased with the new label. Then he checked his watch. "Man, Dad is gonna _kill_ me."

"Hey, Justin, I've got an idea," Alyssa said while she looked in the sub shop window. "Give me one more chance to talk to them. I'll make them understand somehow."

Justin sighed. This had "bad idea that'll never work" written all over it. But it was either this, or sneaking around with Alyssa for the rest of his teenage years. Justin shrugged and replied, "Sure, it's worth a shot. Can't be in any more trouble than I am now."

"That's the spirit!" Alyssa remarked. She gave him a peck on the cheek as she went inside.

"Oh, uh…" Justin muttered as he put a hand to the spot she'd kissed. _Yup, definitely worth a shot._ He followed Alyssa inside with his fingers crossed.

Alyssa paused as Justin caught up and looked around. "Hey…where is everybody?"

"I don't know…" Justin answered. Then he spied the "CLOSED" sign on the door that he'd missed on the way in. "_Closed_? In the middle of the day? Maybe…maybe Mom had to go somewhere while Dad started the magic lesson?" But a quick doubtful glance shared with Alyssa proved how weak the excuse was.

Especially when Theresa came into the room with a sponge and began wiping down the counter. As she looked up and spotted her son and his girlfriend, she promptly dropped the sponge as if startled. "Oh, good, you're here."

"Yeah. Is Alex?" Justin asked, his "good student" name in mind.

Theresa's face seemed to harden. "No."

"Oh, good," Justin said without thinking. His jaw dropped in surprise when Theresa burst into tears and ran into the kitchen. "Mom, I'm sorry, I…" he trailed off as the door swung closed and glanced back at Alyssa. "What did I say?" When she shook her head, the teens ran into the kitchen after the distraught mother.

They entered to find Theresa crying into Jerry's arms. As he patted Theresa on the back, Jerry looked up and glared at his son. "About time you got here. Do you have any idea how late you are? And weren't you supposed to be grounded?"

"Mr. Russo, it's not Justin's fault – " Alyssa began.

Jerry held up a hand to interrupt. "You know what, none of that matters now. We need to talk."

"I'm sorry about that…" Theresa said as she pulled away and dried her eyes. "It wasn't anything you said, Justin, but…A-Alex and Max…they…"

Jerry became more serious while she regained her composure. "Alyssa, do you know a sea wizard named Pogisa?"

"Pogisa…" Alyssa trailed off as she tried to place the name. Then her eyes widened. "Yeah! She was an evil sea wizard who my father got expelled from the kingdom a few years ago."

Justin wrinkled his brow as he tried to place the new magical term. "Sea wizard?"

"Wizards who have made a home for themselves underwater," Jerry explained. "They cast water breathing spells on themselves and clear water out of underwater caves. Most often happens with wizards who have turned…evil and need a place to hide."

At that, Justin gasped as he put two and two together. _Alex and Max and an evil sea wizard. _"No…h-how? What, I…"

Once again, Theresa explained what happened through ill-concealed tears. When she was done, Alyssa gave a solemn nod. "Yeah, that's her. She's been trying to get back into the kingdom to rally supporters for a rebellion – my father got her expelled because he saw that she has a chance of getting a following. You know, new regime, old merpeople aren't all so tolerant of other species. She…she probably came here trying to kidnap me for leverage to get her back in and finish what she started."

"Wow," Justin muttered. It was only a week ago that he first came in contact with mermaids. Now he was getting a crash course on merpeople political unrest.

Jerry seemed to be taking it in well, however. Justin suspected that his father was just trying to keep himself together since his mother was falling apart. "So she'll probably use Alex and Max for the same leverage," Jerry reasoned. "And now, she has two _wizards_…oh, no…"

"What, Jerry?" Theresa asked, sounding as if she was afraid to know the answer.

"The government will be more likely to give Pogisa what she wants," Jerry explained. "…rather than cause an inter-species incident. Because if the Acqua Nordi king doesn't get Alex and Max back, then wizard authorities will step in and…oh, boy, this could get way out of hand."

Theresa glared at him. "It's _already_ way out of hand. My babies…" she trailed off as she wiped away another tear.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Russo," Alyssa said.

Justin, meanwhile, felt sick to his stomach. While he'd been off running along the beach with his girlfriend, his siblings were being captured by an evil sea hag. It immediately came to mind that if he'd been there, he could've stopped it. He was the supposed best wizard out of all three of them, yet he hadn't been there to use his magic when it mattered most. "I'm sorry too. For not being here."

"We'll talk about that later. Nothing matters now except getting Max and Alex back safe and sound," Jerry replied, then went to open the door to the lair. "Let's go in here. We can look through some of the magic books for information on Pogisa while we figure out what to do."

Minutes later, the four were seated in the chairs neat the chalkboard, each with a book on magical creatures in hand. Justin had already gone through one, only to find nothing but useless information on mermaid pop culture and the importance of _The Little Mermaid_. The one he was looking through now seemed a little more useful. It contained some information on the aforementioned rebellion and its effects on the current political system.

"Here, this might help us," Justin said and began to read. "'While there has been much resistance to the new regime, the current King Ervine has done a good job of keeping order in his kingdom. His first in command, Soldier Layton, expelled many rebel leaders to one of the Dark Sea regions – areas scattered throughout the world where evil sea creatures gather and form their own communities.'" Justin paused and glanced at Alyssa. "Soldier Layton is your father, right?"

"Yeah. Last I heard, Pogisa was hiding out in the one outside of Acqua Nordi," Alyssa explained. "But we'd be crazy to try and go there. There are tons of protection spells and charms against good merpeople."

Theresa made an odd squeaky noise of panic at that new information. She didn't need to say anything – it was now a given that Alex and Max would be there as well.

As he put a comforting hand over hers, Jerry said, "Alright, Alyssa, can you contact your father and tell him about our situation? Maybe he can tell the king. He would know the right way to handle this better than anyone."

"I'll do better than that. I can call Daddy to come here," Alyssa said. Then she touched her shell necklace and seemed to concentrate.

Before Justin could ask what she was doing, a tall, muscular man with red hair appeared next to her. "Alyssa!" he greeted as he gave her what looked like a suffocating hug. "It's been a while since you summoned me."

"Hi Daddy!" Alyssa exclaimed as she hugged him back with equal force.

Layton pulled apart and looked around, his gaze falling on Justin. "And you've made a new friend, I see."

"Yeah, this is the wizard I met on WizSpace, Justin Russo," Alyssa introduced.

"Hello, Soldier Layton…sir…" Justin stuttered, jumping off the sofa and shaking the man's hand. "These are my parents, Jerry and Theresa."

Layton turned and shook each of the parents' hands. "So nice to meet you both."

"Likewise," Jerry replied. "Sir, I hate to bother you, but we had Alyssa call you here. There's been an…incident. And I'm afraid it could become a big problem for your kingdom."

"Say no more," Layton said as h held up his hands. "We've already been informed of the problem."

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Wow, news travels fast down there."

"Yes it does, especially when you're as well connected as our administration is," Layton replied. "And we're working on a plan that will get your children back, Mr. and Mrs. Russo."

As she gave him a grateful look, Theresa sighed. "Oh, thank goodness. Thank you so much."

"It's no trouble at all. None of us want to make enemies with our new wizard friends," Layton explained with a reassuring smile. "We'll do our best to get your children back without giving into Pogisa's demands, which I'm sure we'll receive soon. But it may take some time. These things have to be handled _very_ delicately."

Jerry nodded. "I understand. Is there anything we can do?"

"Yeah, is there?" Justin added. Maybe he could redeem himself by helping the rescue.

"Well…" Layton began. "You will all need to come down to Acqua Nordi for the trial against Pogisa, in the event we do capture her. Especially Mrs. Russo, since she is a primary witness."

Theresa's eyes widened at that as she interrupted. "Uh, sir, while I'll be happy to, I just want to point out that I'm human. Would I be…welcome?"

"Oh, of course. Our new species tolerance extends to humans as well," Layton explained. "Also, if you're worried about oxygen, we wouldn't have to swim - there is instant transport. And a new air wing of the palace for guests of another species."

Jerry seemed impressed. "Wow. A lot has changed over the last few years."

"And, you're all welcome to come down and see if there's any way you can help that I may not be aware of," Layton offered.

Alyssa jumped up at that and grabbed Justin's hand. "Oh, you _have_ to come down! It would be awesome to give you the tour! We can rent a tail for you and…"

"I-I'm sorry, _rent a tail_?" Justin asked, not sure if he liked the sound of that.

"Yeah! It's the latest spell," Alyssa explained with enthusiasm. "For non-mermaid tourists. They can rent a tail and gills to spend the day in Acqua Nordi."

Layton held up a hand. "Now, Alyssa, your friend can come for a visit any time. Right now, they are probably going to want to stay in the palace so they get updates on their missing family members." Then he paused and looked at them. "Do you want to come at this moment?"

"_Now_?" Jerry asked with barely controlled surprise. "B-but…"

Theresa stepped forward and glanced back at her husband. "Jerry, if there's a chance we could help get our children back…I'm ready to go. Now."

"Well, you heard her. I guess…we'll be going," Jerry said.

Alyssa jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh, Justin, isn't this awesome? You're going to get to see my home!"

Nervous about the trip, Justin gave her a weak smile. "Yeah. Can't wait."

* * *

Alex found herself belly-up in a fish tank.

"Wh-a…" she trailed off in a sleepy daze. As she rubbed her eyes, she…well, rotated so that she was vertical in the water.

Her jaw dropped when she saw it. A shimmering, scaly pink tail, ending in a fin that had to be almost bigger than the tail itself. She whirled around to look at herself in the side glass of the fish tank.

"Whoa," Alex gasped.

Her hair was wavy and soaking wet as it fell on her shoulders. Instead of the t-shirt and vest she'd been wearing, there was a large bikini top made of pink clam shells, and straps which appeared to be made of very thin but secure seaweed. She scoffed at the image. _If Dad could see me like this. He thinks tankinis with stomach showing "reveal too much."_

She didn't mind the bikini top. Her hair looked _awesome_ when it was wet. And the cool conch shell earrings and necklace were so awesome that she wished that they stayed with her once she was a wizard again. (Oh, if only Dean could see her like this!)

But the tail was _pink_. Ugh. At least it was a somewhat cool metallic pink.

_Enough with the outfit check. You're in trouble, remember?_

Alex's eyes widened as the scene in the lair came flashing back. Pogisa must have knocked her and Max out with a sleeping spell for the trip.

_Max!_

"Max?" Alex shouted as she frantically looked around the huge fish tank. Her top half was taking in _air_, but she was at almost the very top of the tank, so much that she suspected she could reach the lid if she jumped. Max wasn't on the surface, so Alex glanced down…

"Oh my gosh!" Alex cried. Her brother appeared to be sleeping below the surface as he lied motionless. Her panic caused her to forget that he would be able to breath underwater in his new form. "Max!" she yelled, and instinct caused her to hold her breath as she dove into the water.

Of course, about thirty seconds of swimming later, she began to get lightheaded. But she was able to swim so fast that she wasn't sure if she could reach the surface in time (it was a _big_ tank).

_You're a mermaid, stupid! Breathe!_

She winced in anticipation as she attempted to breathe again through shallow breaths. It was an…odd sensation, to say the least. Water flowed uninterrupted into her nose mouth, then filled her gills on its way out, which were where her lungs should have been. She didn't know how she knew there were gills instead of lungs…she didn't normally feel her lungs while above the surface. But she could just _tell_.

After some five seconds of that, she got the hang of it and continued down after her brother. In fact, she felt even better than she had while half in good old air. The energy boost helped her reach Max in record time. "Max!" she called, much in the same way she once had to wake him up for school. "Max, wake up!" she said. She swam next to her brother and shook his arm. "Come on, wake up!"

"Five more minutes, Mom," Max grumbled as he turned away from Alex .

Alex rolled her eyes and this time slapped his head. "_Wake up_! We need to figure out what to do now."

"Alright, I'm up," Max said. He yawned while he rotated upright. Then he gasped when the yawn caused him to consciously breathe underwater for the fist time. "What the…" he paused as he watched some "air" bubbles come out of his mouth. "_Cool_! Hey Alex, look what I can do!"

"Yeah, amazing," Alex deadpanned. She then refocused her attention on the glass tank side facing outwards, for the first time really noticing where they were. "Whoa…"

The place, like the tank, was huge. Alex noted that it was the typical evil-lair type cave…but only in shape. The rock walls were polished until they almost glittered. Mismatched furniture was scattered throughout. Woven seaweed rugs covered the floor. Water must have been closed off from the place through some sort of spell, since there was a waterfall that functioned as a door that lead to the sea outside (Alex wasn't fooled, though. She suspected there were some pretty intense locking spells on that thing). The effect came off as posh yet cozy.

"Now this is my kind of evil villain," Alex said in appreciation.

She quickly changed her tune when she actually saw her captor in the corner of the room. The sea hag was lounging on a chair with a cushion made of sea sponge, and was talking to a floating image of what looked like a pretty intense merman wearing some sort of official sash.

"Now, you tell your king," Pogisa was saying with a smug smile. "That I know what I have here. I used my own special spell to turn these wizards into mermaids, and they stay that way unless _I_ cast the reversal spell. Even if you somehow get them back, those self-righteous wizards will get all annoyed at you anyway. So you need me, and you need me alive. Not to mention that you have no idea where my secret lair is.

"So here are my demands. You have to let me back into the kingdom. Not on probation, either. I want the same rights as all other regular mermaid citizens. And immunity to the laws of Acqua Nordi."

The merman's eyes widened. "_What_? That's ridiculous! You have to be reasonable here, Pogisa. You are standing on _very_ thin ice as it is. We'll find you on our own. And we might be a little more lenient if you were willing to compromise more."

"Me? Compromise? Something needs to be done about my criminal profile if you boys think that _I'd_ be willing to compromise," Pogisa scoffed. She waved her hand and the screen vanished.

Alex gave a long, disappointed sigh. "Max…we're going to be here for a while."

* * *

A/N: Whew, this part came out longer than I planned. Thanks to Arnold McGuire 335 for the suggestion for Alex and Max's tail colors!


	7. Part VII

**Part VII**

"This is really bad," Alex said, more to herself than her brother.

But Max still swam up and looked out with her. "Why do you say that?"

"I think that guy she was talking to was one of the good guys," Alex explained. As she spoke, she was processing everything she had learned and putting it all together to get a grasp of their situation. "The soldier guy. He must be from Acqua Nordi. That's good, though," she added in an upbeat tone, purely to assure her brother. "At least that means they know we're here and are going to come for us."

Max seemed to buy her optimism. "Yeah, they'll find us in no time! But…" he paused in a moment of rare seriousness. "What about Mom and Dad? And Justin?"

"Well, they know what happened. Mom was…there," Alex trailed off as she realized that Max wasn't referring to if their family was searching for them. "Oh, Max," Alex said while she put a comforting arm around her brother's shoulders. "I'm sure they're all holding up, so they can do what they can to find us."

"Mom was crying when she ran out of the lair," Max reminded her.

But Alex didn't need to be reminded. The heartbreaking scene was still fresh. She now understood that Max had been somewhat traumatized by what happened, and she couldn't blame him. So had she. "Oh…well, I'm sure Mom's okay now," Alex lied. "Like I said, everyone will be concentrating on trying to find us so much that there won't be time for them to sit around and cry." She hoped. "Come on, let's think about something else. How cool are these tails, huh?"

Thank goodness Max was easily distracted. "Oh, yeah! Look at this…" Max paused, then pounded his tail down. He propelled forward with intense speed. "Isn't that so cool? It's like having my own boat engine!"

"Awesome," Alex exclaimed. She was honestly impressed. While they _were_ in a desperate situation, it couldn't hurt to have a little fun with their new condition. "Hold on, I've got a trick." Then she twisted her tail over and let it go. She was propelled upwards in a spiral.

Once she stopped, she put a hand to her forehead. "Whoa. Head rush."

"I've got to try that!" Max replied. He copied her move and wound up with the same headache.

Alex laughed. "You know, this would almost be fun if…we weren't in a _fish tank_. How lame is that anyway? We are so not…well, okay, we're half fish. But still only half!"

"But on the bright side…" Max said with a mischievous grin and looked up. "We can have surface races! First one to the top and jumps wins!"

"Oh, you're on merboy!" Alex exclaimed. They launched upwards, and after some time Alex took the lead.

But once they neared the surface Max sped up and arched gracefully over the water and landed first. "Ha! Beat you!"

"No fair! Your tail's smaller than mine – more aerodynamic," Alex argued. "Rematch!"

"Having fun, are we?"

Alex froze mid-laugh when Pogisa approached the tank. As she gave her the nastiest glare she could come up with, Alex snapped, "_No_."

Pogisa just raised an eyebrow at Max, who was blissfully trying to touch the end of his tail fin with his elbow.

"Okay, maybe a _little_ fun," Alex admitted with a careless shrug. "But that doesn't change the fact that you are in _so_ much trouble. Alyssa will contact Acqua Nordi. Her father is very high up, you know."

Pogisa scoffed at that. "Honey, why do you think I went after the mer-brat in the first place?"

"Alright, so you do know," Alex muttered. "But my dad's an ex-wizard and _he'll_ contact the wizard police. _Then_ you'll be in big trouble."

"Oh, really? That's great, because then King Ervine will meet my demands to get you two brats back 'safe and sound,'" Pogisa bragged.

Alex frowned. "So clearly you've thought this through. Good for you."

"Thanks, kid," Pogisa said. "You know, if after all this you need an after-school job or something, I could use someone like you in my little operation I've got going here. Someone to rally support and promote the cause."

Distracted, Alex tilted her head and replied, "Really? 'Cause I've been working at the sub shop for a while and could use a change…" she trailed off and shook her head. "What am I _saying_? I can't work for you!'

Pogisa shrugged. "Why not? I pay ten bucks an hour."

"Ten bucks an hour, really? Nice!" Alex exclaimed. Then she shook her head again. "No, wait, you're _evil_!"

"Now, I wouldn't say that. It's more…a different point of view than how things are currently run," Pogisa argued.

Alex crossed her arms in disbelief. "So that's how you put it, huh? What exactly _is_ your 'different point of view'?"

"I'm glad you asked," Pogisa said. She was smiling and clearly proud of herself and the concept. "Aren't you sick of your forced hiding from mortals? Always sneaking around with spells and paranoid of exposure? Well, when I take over, that problem will cease to exist and magic will have free reign!"

"That's crazy!" Alex exclaimed as her heartbeat quickened in panic. It was one thing when Pogisa just wanted back into the kingdom. Now that the sea wizard had an ulterior motive…Alex was beginning to worry. "There's no way that would work! It would be total chaos!"

Pogisa seemed unaffected by the argument. "Newsflash, kid – mortals are _mortals_. They don't _have_ any power to make a difference. In fact, I've always wondered why magical beings felt the need to hide from them when mortals are so inferior."

"Maybe because most magical beings aren't _evil_," Alex seethed. Now she knew why Pogisa acted superior towards her mother earlier. The sea hag was a magical elitist.

"It's a shame, isn't it?" Pogisa continued as she ignored the intension of insult. "But that'll change once I get enough supporters. Then you 'good' beings really won't be able to stop me, will you?"

"We will. It'll never happen," Alex snapped.

"We'll see, honey," Pogisa replied. Then a loud noise sounded as another communication image appeared, this one of a mean-looking male sea wizard. "Oh, excuse me, I've got another call."

As if on cue, Max managed to float over to her with his elbow on the spot where his fin connected to his tail. "Hey Alex, look, I did it!"

Alex leaned against the glass of the tank with her back to the room and sighed. "That's great, Max."

* * *

It felt like he was in a fish tank.

Justin stared up at the glass ceiling and watched as a group of merpeople and some small fish swam overhead.

Well, maybe more like _he_ was the one in the fish tank – the ones to look out while the world goes on outside. The walls of the palace hall he, his parents, Alyssa and her father had landed in were made of crystal clear, thick glass, divided up by columns made of dark beige coral. The coral columns were etched with intricate swirling designs, and stretched up from the blue marble floor what would be equal to at least ten stories high.

"Wow," he whispered, unable to take his eyes off the ceiling.

His parents were looking up as well. "Wow is right," Theresa agreed. "This place is amazing. It's like being in an aquarium."

"A really elaborate aquarium," Justin added.

Jerry managed to tear his eyes away from the architecture and back to his hosts. "So…what do we do next?"

"My colleagues are attempting to connect with Pogisa as we speak," Layton explained. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to go report your arrival. Alyssa, honey, why don't you show them where they'll be staying?"

"Sure, Daddy!" Alyssa replied. Her father nodded in acknowledgement and went out through a door on the end of the short corridor. She led them down the corridor in the other direction Layton had gone, toward the massive double doors. As she opened them, she explained, "This is the main waiting area. There are rooms through those doors for our overnight guests. You're welcome to stay here until we find Alex and Max."

"I don't think that will be necessary. But thank you," Jerry replied.

Theresa nodded. "Yes, thank you so much. We really appreciate this."

Justin, meanwhile, was speechless. The room was only half as high as the corridor, but just as airy – neither spaces felt dark or damp, like it could have been since they were underwater. Cushioned chairs, couches and chaise lounges were scattered around the room. There was a main coffee table, and a side table and chairs on a raised platform on the side. In the corner between the living area and the platform was a small fridge and microwave All this…was centered around a huge, coral-framed television complete with various DVD's and gaming systems.

"It's no big deal. We love having human visitors," Alyssa was saying.

"Clearly," Justin said, unable to stop staring at the entertainment center. "Quick question, Alyssa. The TV…"

Alyssa laughed. "I knew you'd love it. We try to keep this area updated with the latest human technology and amenities. You know, make our guests feel at home?"

"Oh, I think Justin's already home. In a few minutes he'll be playing those games in his underwear like he does at our apartment," Theresa said with a small chuckle.

"_Mom_!" Justin said as he felt his face redden from embarrassment.

"Well, you could if you wanted to. These glass walls are made so that no one can see in," Alyssa told him.

"Wow," Jerry said in a quiet whisper. "Hard to believe that all this was built up since the last time I…" He trailed off as the other three gave him questioning looks. "…saw the outside of this place during my wizard training. Is that a sixty inch?" he quickly said and went over to the television.

Theresa frowned with concern. "He's hiding something," she said, more to herself than the teenagers next to her. Then she shook her head and turned to Alyssa. "So, when can we expect updates on Max and Alex?"

"Oh, I'll hang out with you guys while you're here, if you don't mind," Alyssa answered. "Daddy will probably pop in every half hour or so to tell you what's going on. If he's too busy, he'll contact us through the TV." Her eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh! And you have to stay in this area and the corridor – and the air meeting rooms should we need them. The rest of the palace is totally open-water, meaning that there are open windows and systems that fill the palace with water. As you can imagine, the everyone prefers to stay in their merperson form."

"That's understandable," Justin agreed. Although the idea of being in a relatively small piece of the palace totally surrounded by water unnerved him.

"So…what can we do?" Jerry asked as he came back over. "You don't expect us to just sit around and worry while we wait for you to find my kids."

Alyssa gave him a sympathetic look, but shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Russo. It's too dangerous. I personally say you should be able to, but…there's no way they would let you get directly involved. You're basically here in case Pogisa lets you speak to Alex and Max, or if we need information about them that could be useful."

"What?" Jerry demanded. "You drag us all the way down here and…"

Theresa made quieting noises and rubbed his arm. "Jerry, calm down. We'll only get in the way – what can we do against evil anyway?" she pointed out, a definite bitter note to her words.

There was silence at that. Then Justin said quietly, "Mom, it's not your fault."

"I know," Theresa whispered – not convinced in the least.

Justin shook his head. "No, Mom, if anyone's at fault here, it's me. If I hadn't been late to class, I could've…"

"No," Jerry insisted. "No one is blaming anyone. What happened, happened, and right now we're stuck here waiting whether we like it or not."

In an attempt to ease the tension, Alyssa went over and picked up a game controller. "_Mario Party_, anyone?"

"Sure," Justin muttered. For the sake of distraction, he and his parents sat down on the couch facing the television while Alyssa started up the Nintendo Wii.


End file.
